1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates qenerally to improvements in fluid monitoring apparatus, and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to apparatus for monitoring the volume of fluid received from the body of a human patient.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the treatment of patients for various illnesses, it is often important that the physician know the rate at which urine is secreted by the patient's kidneys. For example, monitoring urine output provides the physician not only with information relating to renal functioning but, in addition, provides him with information relating to the functioning of other organs, the effects of drugs and the effectiveness of the course of treatment the patient is under going. In general, then, urine monitoring is a valuable tool for both the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
Because of the value of urine monitoring to the physician, a variety of urine monitoring devices have been developed and these devices have, in general, served the physician well, especially since the advent of the use of computers in medical treatment. With the coupling of flow measuring devices to computers, the physician has been given a tool that enables him to keep a constant, easily retrievable record of the condition and progress of his patient.
However, urine monitoring apparatus has, in one respect, lagged behind the capabilities that are provided by the use of computers in medicine. While the devices currently available serve the purpose of monitoring urine flow very well, they are special purpose devices that cannot be adapted to other purposes for which an accurate record of fluid flow would be of value to the physician. For example, during surgery, a physician will often measure the loss of blood by the patient by withdrawing fluid, including saline solution, from the open wound so that the blood loss can be determined from the difference in the quantities of fluid withdrawn and the quantity of saline solution introduced. At present, no suitable apparatus capable of making measurements with the accuracy and speed comparable to that of a uroflowmeter exists for making such a measurement. A uroflowmeter which might otherwise be used this purpose to provide the desired accuracy and speed is incapable of handling the rate of flow that occurs when fluid is actively drawn from a wound. Similarly, because of the special purpose for which uroflowmeters have been designed, they are generally incapable of being adapted to provide information concerning other fluid parameters in which the physician might, at various times be interested.